The French Connection

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Hagrid L Apr 27, 2019 One of the greatest films ever in its genre, this is an intense, realistic, tough glimpse at cops and criminals and the gritty worlds of 1960s-70s New York and Marseille. Gene Hackman seems like he was born for this role - what a great performance. See more

Leia L Apr 24, 2019 I wasn't alive in 1972 but if I had been present at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion that night I would have been very disappointed that this year's Best Picture winner was this great action film but not the utter perfection of The Last Picture Show (1971). This was a very good, very well made film that is deserving of all the praise that it gets for being an influential action movie but it shouldn't be the Best Picture of any year. Yes, it's technically well constructed but the characters were thin, the plot was exceedingly thin and the screenplay didn't contain the gems found in something like Carnal Knowledge (1971). Part of the problem is definitely that it wasn't targeted at teenage girls who enjoy conversation based films and not a film that's main attraction is a car chase and Gene Hackman's supposedly great performance. The film concerns two police officers working on a drug bust, Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider. they traipse around the grimiest parts of New York City in their increasingly desperate quest to find the drugs and have them arrested. Big set pieces including the famous car chase scenes and Hackman's many tempter tantrums. My biggest issue with the film is that it is largely boring and forgettable. I watched the film just two days ago and already the only things I can remember about it are the car chase scene and the removal of the sill from the car to get to the hidden drugs. Scheider who is so great in Sorcerer (1977) and All That Jazz (1979) gets little to do and Hackman is just a vessel for violence in the lead role as he does little more than narrow his eyes and redden his cheeks to convey his character's absolute determination. With two characters I really couldn't give a flying fuck about being the only two people that we really get to interact with in this film it's hard to stay engaged. The action is only so exciting before it becomes tedious and you become aware that this will be the entire film action with an underdeveloped purpose and nothing characters. Of course the car chase is stunning, it's edge of your seat exciting as you feel as though you are in the car with Hackman and Scheider in their dogged pursuit of their mark. The setting around them feels authentic and the driving feels dangerous as you question the sanity of the drivers. This sequence would influence so many films to follow but they're not really films I'm all that passionate about. This scene is just a tiny sliver of a film that's mostly dull or just bombastically stupid, watch the scene on youtube as much as you want it really doesn't get old quickly but don't invest hours of your life into this film as a whole. Watch The Last Picture Show or Carnal Knowledge if you take anything away from this film, they are better written, directed and acted than this overrated action flick. It shocks and surprises me that something that relies so heavily on one sequence could win over two films that are superb throughout. Watching Cloris Leachman throw her coffee at the wall and emotionally breakdown is a more gratifying experience than seeing Hackman angrily cuss at a stressed mechanic. Jack Nicholson's manic intensity and all-around oddness is a joy to be presented with while Scheider's moody man of few words act is great when used well but here Friedkin seems unaware of what he is working with. I would recommend the two other films I have already reference before I would even bring this film up in conversation. I am girly and I do like films that are more emotional than physical experiences but this is a film that is weak other than a few stunning sequences and that is not enough to call it the â~Best Picture' of the year because that implies that the film as a whole is better than the many great films to come out of 1971 and that is simply not true. If your tastes a similar to mine stay away from this overrated winner. See more

Rey W Dec 14, 2018 From a law enforcement perspective there's so many things wrong even though it's a great film.

Abraham S Dec 6, 2018 The French Connection "is" connected, speaking effervescently and unapologetically the romance between the characters. The French Connection Friedkin's cop and con analysis protrudes the thirst that drives it and the hunger that it feeds off. The concept itself suggests the cat and mouse chase but this is not your usual in and out mission. It stays there along with it. No matter how hard and sweat inducing this labour gets. And since it is based on a true story Friedkin's hands are tied but his methods aren't tied to any whatsoever promise. He seeks for an opportunity to stretch its way out through a bang for a more cinematic experience. If there ought to be a simple man to man marking on following a guy, he does it with such panache that you are left with you jaws dropped in the air. He milks out something from these scenes that you have never felt before. In fact, what he does in here, MacQuarie in Mission Impossible Fallout has managed to do so in the Paris sequence. I have never felt the thrills and exhilaration that a chase scene can offer like such. The feature barely resides upon verbal sparrings it is basically all physical sequences performed lethally and for the most part of it, in one shot, that adds a cherry on top of it. One of the primary strength of the feature, is its uncertainty, the makers keeps us under the shades and reveals it at the point of crisis where before that the storyline is just setting up the antics just like the characters are chasing each other blindly with all the dedication and sweat and blood there is. Hackman as a frustrated underappreciated protagonist makes sure you feel the need for him to succeed as much as he does and on that note of vulnerability that is projected, it is a complete triumph. The French Connection "is" connected, speaking effervescently and unapologetically the romance between the characters. See more

Kylo S Nov 12, 2018 This is a great crime thriller directed by the young William Friedkin for which he won an Oscar. This is a gritty film filled with fantastic performances throughout the spectrum- Gene Hackman is amazing as the tough no nonsense cop Doyle well assisted by Roy Schneider, still a few years removed from playing hark hunter Brody. Friedkin has great directing skills and the car chase sequence is already considered one of the finest ever put on film though I personally found it a bit overrated and not as good as the one in Friedkin's other film To Live and Die in LA. Regardless, you should check this film out if you like hard gritty films full of tough guys. See more

Harry G Nov 4, 2018 Watching 'The French Connection' today, it's hard to grasp the movie earned 5 Academy Awards (let alone best picture). The movie is far from perfect and certainly not as flawless as many reviewers say it is. The scenes in Marseille focusing on the gangsters for example are unnecessary since they don't add anything in terms of story or character and they slow the movie down considerably. The pacing issues are made worse because there isn't a lot happening that is worth of interest. The story is very simple and barebones, with underdeveloped characters. Popeye Doyle is probably the most interesting character, but he isn't exactly a character with a lot of layers. The movie does have several merits though. First of all Gene Hackman is a treat to watch, showing great tenacity and intensity as the cop with anger issues. Secondly, the level of grit and realism displayed are to be commended and were clearly an influence for many films to come. New York looks downright dirty and grimy here. Thirdly there is the famous chase sequence which has passed the test of the time and is still thrilling by today's standards. I felt a bit like the character of Popeye Doyle in the end, feeling frustrated and wanting more after the anticlimactic ending. I expected more of 'The French Connection' and I certainly wasn't blown away by it, probably because of the revered status the movie has acquired throughout the years. The movie isn't anything special by todays standards but it was probably groundbreaking for its time and it is worth a watch to see how influential it was for police thrillers that followed. See more

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The French Connection

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